London, UK – 24 May, 2012: Getty Images today announces an innovative change to its traditional watermark. The redesign sees the watermark that is so familiar to content users now replaced with a more subtle, side-aligned icon that provides customers with vital information at a glance, and quick URL to license the image.

Gone is the old watermark which many saw as an obstructive barrier. By rethinking how the vital information that each image carries is communicated, Getty Images and R/GA London have transformed the watermark into a helpful tool. The new watermark, which is live from today, has been introduced across Getty Images’ entire online stills collection, which encompasses more than 52 million images spanning creative and editorial content and highlights a more open, innovative and respectful way to highlight each image’s information. Customers can learn and explore more about the new watermark at www.gettyimages.com/watermark

Jim Gurke, Senior Vice President, Marketing at Getty Images says: “We are very excited to introduce our new watermark, which was produced in collaboration with R/GA London and is the result of months of research and discussion with our customers and development team. During the beta phase, customer feedback was overwhelmingly positive and it was clear that the old watermark was seen as more of a hindrance than a benefit.”

Gurke Continues: “We seized this as an opportunity to turn the watermark into a positive and industry-innovating tool, which we believe will greatly benefit our customers. Our new watermark now reflects what Getty Images is all about – sharing inspiring content while adding context and value. Furthermore, it also streamlines image sourcing, making it easier for our customers to access our content quickly and effectively.”

The new watermark will:

Display custom URLs which incorporates image number codes along with the URL, which offers customers a simple resource to find the image

Celebrate our photographers and contributors

Enable the image to be viewed as a whole, transforming a barrier into a benefit

Getty Images is one of the world’s leading creators and distributors of still imagery, video and multimedia products, as well as a recognized provider of other forms of premium digital content, including music. Getty Images serves business customers in more than 100 countries and is the first place creative and media professionals turn to discover, purchase and manage images and other digital content. Its award-winning photographers and imagery help customers produce inspiring work which appears every day in the world’s most influential newspapers, magazines, advertising campaigns, films, television programs, books and Web sites. Visit Getty Images at www.gettyimages.co.uk to learn more about how the company is advancing the unique role of digital media in communications and business, and enabling creative ideas to come to life. Additional information on how Getty Images inspires and powers communications can be found on The Getty Images Blog at blog.gettyimages.com as well as on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gettyimages and Twitter at www.twitter.com/gettyimages.com.